I have wanted to ask this question for a very long time. Why do the same people that do not want to see anyone get on a horses back before they are 3 or 4, feel it is OK to send them through a jump chute at 2 or 3 years of age?
Maybe because it is without the weight of a rider? And to judge their ability? Survey says…
Babies run and buck and leap into the air, so I don’t mind sending them through a shoot a few times to get an idea of how they naturally jump. I only do it one time, so it is not like I do it every day. They play much harder than I make them work, so I don’t feel bad doing it. 
Using the jump chute at a young age can help you understand their natural technique, sensibility and drive.
Knowing how they are without rider gives you a good basis of understanding of how they will be with a rider.
Cheers
[QUOTE=LockeMeadows;6550674]
Babies run and buck and leap into the air, so I don’t mind sending them through a shoot a few times to get an idea of how they naturally jump. I only do it one time, so it is not like I do it every day. They play much harder than I make them work, so I don’t feel bad doing it. ;)[/QUOTE]
Agree. The stuff my horses do in the paddock gives me heart palpitations. The sliding stops, leaps, twists, bucks, etc are enough to make me hide my eyes. A few times going through a chute in a controlled manner (i.e. NOT just letting them run around and through. Lead them in, let them jump and catch at the end) is not nearly as strenuous as what they do to themselves daily.
Because many of those “people” know that the very last thing to develop in a horse is the vertebrae (neck/spine). When you put a saddle & rider on a horse’s back, you put pressure on a still-growing spinal column. When you free-jump a 2 or 3 yr old, the only joints that are (lightly) stressed are ones that have already finished growing/fusing.
Hocks aren’t done until last, with the back, so even free jumping at 2-3 is stressing those joints
However, there’s a HUGE difference between getting on and starting full training on a 3yo, and sending a 2yo through a properly set up jump chute a few times.
As said, young horses do FAR “worse” things to themselves while playing in turnout, and if a 2yo breaks from being properly sent through a chute, then he’s got bigger issues.
